


Oshynn

by alex_greene



Category: Harn, Harnworld
Genre: Agrik, City of Sins, Fyvria, Halea, Harn - Freeform, Harnworld - Freeform, Naveh, Rethem, Shek-Pvar, Thard River, Tharda, Thardic Republic, shiran
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29661531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alex_greene/pseuds/alex_greene
Summary: Oshynn is forced to make a decision. At the same time, she must contend with a vile character who seeks to exploit Oshynn's unique talents, using her abducted mother Arian as leverage.
Relationships: None
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Oshynn

'That cat is going to fall from the tree.'

The short, old, balding man in brown jumped, startled. He looked at the sandy-haired young girl who was looking at him through piercing blue eyes.

'I said, that cat is going -'

The man smiled, his teeth shining: an oddity to see teeth so clean in an old face. 'Do tell,' he said, his voice a whisper.

'You were looking at that blossoming cherry tree over there,' the girl said. 'The image of what you were seeing was clear in your mind.'

'Do continue.'

The girl looked at the sunlit square, which was dominated by the cherry tree. At this time of year, the blossoms were just starting to rain gently down on the grass. Other than the old man on a stool, watching the tree, and the girl watching the man, there were no human beings around.

On one of the branches of the tree, a bird perched. A blackbird, its song a chittering medley of poorly-imitated human sounds mixed with other birds' songs.

'Blackbirds are storytellers,' the old man said to the girl. 'At the drawing of an evening, one blackbird will perch high up, and tell a long, rambling story of what it experienced during the day.'

The girl nodded, digesting this in her mind.

'So, then, tell me of the cat.'

The girl pointed towards the feline, a short-haired dappled orange tom, perched on a higher branch, its focus fixed on the bird. So far, the bird did not seem to be aware that death was mere inches away.

'It's getting ready to pounce,' the girl whispered. 'But it will fall, instead.'

'How do you know this?' the old man asked.

'Observe,' the girl replied, pointing. The man followed her gaze.

A short distance away, some pigeons were pecking at the ground near the back entrance to a mill-cum-bakery. The step had a jag of stone where one corner of the step had been broken a few years before. Nearby was a cart, the horse contentedly grazing on feed in the stable across the way.

'The Apprentice always drags the grain sacks along the ground, despite his Master telling him to lift it,' the girl said. 'The grain sacks keep snagging on that sharp edge, spilling the grain, and the pigeons flock to the step to feast upon the bounty of the miller.'

'And what has that to do with the cat?'

Somewhere nearby, a bell chimed. Midday. The girl smiled.

'This,' she said.

The door opened. Three young Apprentices spilled out of the mill, scattering the pigeons. One flew straight towards the tree, landing on a branch, just as the cat uncoiled for its pounce.

Everything happened at once at that point. The blackbird, startled by the bursting open of the mill door, took off in fright. The pigeon's weight lowered the branch, stealing some of the energy of the cat's pounce.

The cat, one foreleg straining futilely to catch the blackbird, fell short of the tree and plummeted to the ground, where it landed awkwardly on its paws.

The girl smiled as she watched the cat slink away, its tail lowered, twitching. 'That cat eats too many birds,' she said.

The man looked at the young girl. 'I am Riffen of Sharis, a Citizen of Coranan.'

The girl grinned. 'Oshynn of Llysgaled. I was born here, in Shiran. What are you doing here?'

'That,' Riffen replied, 'is a long story.' He chuckled. 'Tell me, though: how long have you been able to read minds?'

'Since I was a little girl,' Oshynn replied. She peered closely at the old man, and frowned. 'What's a "Shek-Pvar?"'

* * *

'There you are.'

Oshynn was alone in the courtyard, watching the pigeons pecking at the ground at the base of the tree. Everybody had gone. She turned at the sound of her mother's voice, and smiled. 'Where else would I be?'

Arian of Llysgaled opened her free arm. Oshynn embraced Arian, mindful of her mother's heavy basket.

'I got the good bread today,' Arian said, lifting a corner of the cloth. 'Spelt bread.'

Oshynn sniffed at the warm plume of rising scent from the loaves in the basket. Her stomach growled.

'We'll share it later tonight,' Arian said. 'Come on. We've got to get to Rohar to arrange delivery of the goat meat for tonight.'

They made their way through the crowded afternoon streets of Shiran. Arian stroked Oshynn's sandy hair.

'You don't ask so many questions any more,' she said. 'Remember when you were young?'

Oshynn looked up at Arian, scornful.

'Your favourite question was "'Cause why?",' Arian said. 'Any time I laid down the law or asked you to come in out of the rain, "'Cause why? 'Cause why?"'

Oshynn looked at Arian. 'I gave up on that,' she said, 'because nobody seemed to have any answers, and they usually end up getting angry and telling me to go away.' She frowned. 'Usually, I can tell when they're getting angry, because it's like a fire being banked in the back of their heads, and the front of their heads starts to hurt. Like that horse that collapsed from overwork in the road last week.'

Arian patted Oshynn's head. 'But that never happens to your head, does it?'

'It does,' Oshynn replied. 'But when it starts to hurt, I stop and ask why am I trying to fit a big thought in my head all at once, like a honey cake that's too large for my mouth."

'And what do you do then?'

'I cut the thought into smaller thoughts,' Oshynn replied, 'and swallow each little piece until I have taken it all in.'

Arian stroked Oshynn's shoulder. 'Good girl,' she murmured. 'Now remember what we agreed when we meet Rohar?'

'You do all the trading,' Oshynn replied.

'And why is that?'

'Because ... I'm too good?'

Arian laughed. Oshynn could never get enough of her mother's laughter.

* * *

The next door neighbour's eldest daughter Mareva was burning with passion again. Oshynn could feel it through the thin walls. Mareva was with her lover again, Apprentice Barth.

Oshynn lay on her blanket in her corner of the room, wondering what it would be like to be with someone of her own. Oshynn put away the thought in the place where she kept loose thoughts, alongside the thought that she should tell Arian what she could do with her mind, to be brought out for later examination some day.

Oshynn turned over, closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Sleep came upon her quickly, a curtain of blackness descending rapidly. Oshynn found herself standing alone in a vast, black, empty space. She sighed. This dream again.

In the distance, a speck of gold against the black, approaching her rapidly. It drew closer, revealing itself to be a child apparently made of gold, with golden skin, gold ringlets, a chubby toddler face and body, and solid gold eyes. The child rode a grey mare, bareback. When it arrived, Oshynn blinked - and the horse was gone, the child standing before her.

'I come to you in this form, bearing tidings,' the childlike figure said, its voice oddly adult, sonorous, echoing.

'Say your peace, then depart in peace,' Oshynn responded, using words she'd learned from the mind of a priest who was emerging from the Halean temple as Oshynn had passed by, once.

'Many paths open before you,' said the Child of Gold. 'Some are sweet, some are painful, but all but two are short. The long paths are named Freedom and Servitude, and they have no end.'

Oshynn looked at the Child of Gold. 'So must I choose now?'

'Before Yael next blazes full in the sky, you shall see those paths open before you,' replied the Child of Gold.

'And must I choose then?' asked Oshynn.

Darkness fell. The Child of Gold was gone.

Oshynn opened her eyes. It was still dark. Dim silver light shone through the slats of the barred window shutter. Oshynn opened the shutter, and peered out at the night sky, where a gibbous Yael shone down on her.

By her estimation, she had no more than a night or two before she had to choose.

* * *

Oshynn got up again, just before dawn. She stretched and got up from her corner, rolling up the blanket she'd slept on.

She was halfway through her ablutions, washing her body with cold water and a sponge from a ceramic washbowl on the floor, when she realised that something was wrong. A presence which normally filled her mind was absent. She went from room to room, her body shivering as much from rising fear as the water drying on her skin, quickly reaching an appalling conclusion.

Oshynn was alone in the house. Arian had gone in the night.

* * *

Oshynn looked about the empty street, watching the city of Shiran stretch and wake up. There was no sign of Arian anywhere inside or outside the house.

There was something lying on the floor outside the house. Oshynn bent down and picked it up between thumb and index finger. It was a strip of leather, a few inches long. It carried a smell of feet. A sandal strap. The ground looked disturbed, drag marks in the dirt as if some people had been moving about a lot. A patch of red on the floor a few feet away, near where the drag marks began.

Closing the door behind her, Oshynn headed in the direction of the drag marks. She got to the end of the street, to where the dirt road gave way to the city's stone road paving. The dirt trail from the drag marks led off to the left a short distance, then stopped abruptly. Other marks on the road, and a patch of horse manure, suggested that Arian may have been bundled into a cart. Oshynn looked along the length of the road. They had either gone along Tepera Street or borne right and gone down Eind Way towards Malian Square.

Oshynn turned back to go home. On her way, a strange scent caught her nose's attention. She saw a cloth pad lying in grass against a whitewashed stone wall, near the drag marks. Oshynn picked it up and gave it a sniff. Something about the reeking chemical soaked into the damp cloth made her gag. Oshynn continued to make her way back home, wondering why she was suddenly feeling dizzy, her body heavy and weak. After struggling with the door, she slouched into her house, closing the door and barely managing to bar it again before passing out and slumping against the heavy wood.

When Oshynn woke up again, it was after noon. The light had changed. The heat outside had become unseasonally oppressive. And Oshynn was beginning to feel hungry. A sense of horror began to dawn as she realised that her mother was gone.

Getting up from the floor, Oshynn staggered to the back room, smelling of dust, which was full of wooden boxes and coarse sacks. Pushing aside two of the bags revealed a hole in the wall, and a leather bundle held closed with a long leather strap. Oshynn took the bundle out of the hole, and opened it. It contained a leather pouch stuffed with money, letters of introduction, and other documents.

Grabbing an empty sack, Oshynn stuffed the bundle into it, followed by spare clothing. From the larder, Oshynn grabbed some cheese and some apples, and put them in the sack.

From the kitchen, she also got the sharpest knife, wrapped it in a cloth, and put that into the sack as well. She found an old coin pouch which Arian no longer used, and stuffed the stinking cloth pad into it, drawing the string tightly shut.

Finally, Oshynn sat on a stool, looking at the sack on the floor. 'I need to see Auntie Merele first,' she said to herself. 'She will know what to do.' She looked at the sack. 'This can wait till I get back from Auntie Merele's place.'

* * *

The stern ex-Legionnaire stared stoically down at Oshynn. He smelled of sweat.

'Auditions are in the evenings,' he said, his deep voice a growl.

'I'm not here to audition,' Oshynn said. 'I'm here to see Auntie Merele. It's important -'

'Everybody says that,' the guard said. 'But it's hardly ever true, is it?'

Oshynn drew breath to explain. A short woman pushed past the guard.

'Everything is good, guard. Stand down,' the woman said, looking up at the looming mercenary. 'I know this girl. She's the daughter of one of our former employees.'

The guard harrumphed, and returned his gaze to level.

'Auntie Tysele?' Oshynn said, as the courtesan caressed her hair.

'Well, look at you,' Tysele said. 'Arian's girl, and you're growing up quickly. How can I help you?'

'It's my mother,' Oshynn replied. 'She went missing this morning, early. Somebody took her away in the night.'

Shock and surprise crossed Tysele's face. She glanced up at the guard, then back down at Oshynn.

'Come inside,' she told Oshynn. 'I'll take you directly to the boss. She's seeing some people on some sort of business, but she'll stop for you. You know how much she owes Arian.'

As Oshynn took Tysele's hand and let the courtesan lead her through the ornately-decorated corridor into the common area, she could feel the presence of the minds in the room before she saw them. All the staff, including some new staff member from Karejia, and the other three guards. As they entered the room, Tysele paused just inside the entrance. Everybody stared at Oshynn.

'This is Arian's daughter,' Tysele said. 'Borok, can you go and fetch Merele from the music room?'

One of the guards, a handsome-looking, clean-shaven blond lad, got up from his chair and crossed the parlour to the double doors at the far end. Oshynn stood with Tysele for what felt like an eternity. The door to the music room opened, and a comely tousle-haired woman emerged, smiling. On seeing Oshynn, her smile broadened.

'Auntie Merele!'

'Oshynn!' Merele crossed the parlour to embrace the young girl. 'My, you've grown. Has it been, what, two years, since your mother and I shared wine in the back room?'

'That is what I have to talk to you about,' Oshynn replied. 'My mother went missing last night.'

Merele looked up at Tysele. 'Do you think that this is about ...?'

Tysele shook her head. 'Arian said that she wanted no part of it.'

'I know, and I have honoured her request,' Merele said. She looked down at Oshynn. 'If they've hurt her to get to me ...'

'Who?'

Merele looked at Tysele again, then back at Oshynn. 'Some bad people,' she replied. 'Unfinished business, between myself, Tysele and your mother, and ... somebody else.' She looked at the women, who gazed at Oshynn with concern. She sighed. 'Come with me,' she said. 'Come into the music room. There are guests there.'

'Guests?'

'Not the sort who are paying for my services,' Merele said, her face starting to flush. Tysele's face was already blushing. 'As a matter of fact, I am negotiating to pay for theirs. Come. Let me show you. These people might be able to help.'

Taking her hand, Merele led Oshynn into the music room.

'You've never been in here, have you?' Merele asked.

Oshynn shook her head. 'My mother says that she used to work for you,' she told Merele.

'More like "with" me,' Merele replied. 'We were partners in a little venture, before I bought this place.' She gestured to take in the room. 'Come on. I want you to meet the guests.'

She pushed the door open, and led Oshynn inside. The music room was spacious and bright, with light streaming in through three windows in the north face. Oshynn gaped, awed at the colourful diamond-shaped glass panes. 'They must have been expensive,' she said.

Merele chuckled. 'They were.'

Oshynn sniffed the air in the room, catching the odour from a rising column of incense smoke in the room. 'I know this scent,' she said. She looked at the pouch in her hand.

'What's that?' Merele asked.

'Something I found,' Oshynn replied. 'The incense smells like flowers, but underneath it is a scent like this pad, which has been soaked in something they used on Ma. A scent that makes you sleepy.'

'Is that so?'

The stranger's voice was familiar. Oshynn finally paid attention to the other people in the room, standing together, watching Merele and herself. There were five of them; two men, two women, and the fifth person who moved out from behind one of the men.

Oshynn recognised the old man she'd met the day before. 'Riffen!'

Merele looked surprised. 'I see you two have met,' she said.

'Only briefly,' Riffen replied. 'I was meditating. Oshynn bumped into me.' He looked at Oshynn. 'You never told me what you were doing there.'

'I was waiting for Ma,' Oshynn said. 'She was buying good bread from the miller. I was following the cat, and I bumped into you.'

'Now that you two have been reacquainted,' Merele said, 'let me introduce to you the other members of Riffen's party.'

The men and women approached Oshynn. The first man was a towering figure, blue-eyed, with a full beard and long, flowing locks of blond hair. 'Otunn of Coselin.' His Northern accent was thick.

'You're not from Orbaal,' Oshynn said. 'Ivinian?'

'Rognan,' Otunn replied. 'My colleague Kamala comes from Tuvara.'

The equally tall, lithe, graceful black Tuvaran, Kamala, stepped forward. 'I was born in Thonia,' she said, 'but my family escaped the Red Death and settled in Tuvara, where I was captured by a slaver and liberated by a Byrian ship's captain. I joined her crew, and joined Riffen's party at Chelemby.'

The second man and second woman stepped forwards. 'Rathyn of Beahun.' Short, slender, with dark, brown hair, long triangular face, clean-shaven. Eyes sparkling with mischief. A wry grin on his face.

'You're from Orbaal,' Oshynn said.

'All the way from Gwaeryn,' Rathyn replied. 'They call me Rathyn Longshanks, because once I had the opportunity to get away from there, I could not move my legs quickly enough. Sheep are pleasant, but dull conversationalists.' Even Merele chuckled at this.

The second woman was swarthy. 'Now we call him "Rathyn Longtongue,"' she woman said. 'I am Kova. I come from Rykal, in Karejia. One of the islands on the Venarian Sea.' The other three and Merele exchanged knowing glances. Oshynn caught these glances, but the meaning was lost on her.

'I do not know half of these places you speak of,' Oshynn said, 'but I am pleased to meet you.'

'May I look at the item you were carrying?' Riffen asked. Oshynn nodded. Merele handed the leather pouch to Riffen, who opened it to take out the cloth.

'Be careful,' Oshynn said. 'The scent makes you fall asleep.'

'It would,' Riffen said, 'since I invented the stuff, and the incense.'

Oshynn gasped and took a step back. The others looked at her, frowning, puzzled.

Oshynn looked at Merele. 'Merele, did these people take my mother last night?'

'No, Oshynn,' Merele replied. 'If I'd wanted Arian brought to me, I'd have sent someone with a message and invited her here.'

'I make this compound,' Riffen said, stuffing the pad back in its pouch, 'but I do not use it, myself. I sell it to dye manufacturers. They extract dyestuffs from plants which resist the usual methods of dye extraction. Apprentices working with this material have to leave windows open, and avoid naked flames.'

Kova and Kamala looked at Merele. 'And we all know someone who supplies dyes, don't we?'

Merele gritted her teeth. 'Goril.'

'Who?'

Merele looked at Oshynn. 'Your Ma knows Goril,' she said. 'Goril of Ardair. Goril the Dyer.'

Rathyn nodded. 'They say he recently became the richest guildsman in Shiran. They say that the Council have kept a seat open at their table for him to join. All he has to do is accept.'

'A man like that likely has many businesses,' Kamala said. 'Including slavery.'

Otunn grimaced. 'I have no doubt that Goril controls the city's bondmaster - what's her name? Shian?'

Merele nodded. 'Shian of Ulter,' she said. 'One of a few dissenting voices when I made my bid on this property. It took every ounce of influence that I had at the time to claim this place from her. She had designs for turning this place into a cheap brothel.' She grinned. 'I had better plans for my Crimson Palace.'

Otunn looked at Oshynn. 'Do you suspect that Goril knows? About you and ... our business?'

Merele looked at Oshynn. She shook her head. 'No, because I have no doubt that he would have his Lia Kavair friends pay us a visit, or even call upon some of his friends in the Naveh temple and make our heads disappear from our bodies one fine night.'

'Then what business has he of Oshynn?'

Riffen looked at Otunn. 'I know,' he said. He looked at Oshynn. His lips did not move, but Oshynn heard his voice clearly. 'If you can hear me, say "yes."'

Oshynn looked at the others. 'Yes,' she said to Riffen.

'Yes to what?' Kamala said, looking puzzled. 'I didn't see you say anything to her, Riffen.'

'I did not have to,' Riffen replied. 'Oshynn here reads minds, and hears telepathic thoughts.'

The others stepped back in consternation. 'Another mind reader -'

'Not like Maztos,' Riffen said, shaking his head. 'Maztos was cruel, and insane, and they are not wholesome qualities to find in a Savoryan Viran.'

'Then what -' Kova glanced at Riffen. 'She is too young to be a Shek-Pvar. I -'

Riffen gestured, and looked more closely at Oshynn. 'Oshynn,' he asked, 'do you remember when you were young, and your Ma brought you into the room of your house with all those strange men?'

Oshynn brightened up. 'Yes, I remember. I sang a song in a strange language, and I heard one of them think a name, Varsha.' She looked at Riffen. 'How did you know that? That's a memory. Did you read my memory?'

Riffen stood up. He sighed, and said something in that language. Oshynn responded in the same language. Kova gasped.

'Surikal,' she said. 'She speaks the secret tongue of the priests of Agrik.'

Riffen nodded and took a step back. 'And that is why Goril wants her,' he said. 'She knows the secret language of those Agrikan bastards, and she can listen in on their private conversations and report on their activities.' He looked at Merele, then back at Oshynn.

'Oshynn, either they took Arian by mistake, or they took her because she was someone they could use to get to you.'

Oshynn was dumbfounded. 'Me? Why me?'

Otunn looked grim. 'I think they were hoping that you would be the one to open the door instead of her.'

'They could have been following them since the mother was at the miller's,' Rathyn said. 'They might have been watching their place all day.'

'Or their Ma saw them and went out to confront them,' Merele said. 'Arian is like you. Headstrong.' She faced Oshynn.

'We think that Goril wants you to be his spy,' she told Oshynn. 'I have been negotiating terms of hire with these people, because I want something from Goril - something that he has been threatening me with. This is what he does: he steals valuable items, or something which can be used against someone, and he then threatens people and bullies them into doing things for him.'

Merele looked at the adventurers. 'I think that Goril will come to you soon, if he hasn't sent someone already. He's going to threaten you by threatening to kill your Ma, unless you do something for him - like listening to the Agrikan delegation from Rethem that just arrived in town to talk to the people who run the Pamesani Arena.'

'A secret delegation that nobody is supposed to know about,' Rathyn added, 'except that it's the only topic of discussion among half the brigands in the Bull Ring nowadays.'

Oshynn looked at the party of adventurers, and at Merele. 'What do I do to get my Ma back?'

Merele glanced at the party, whose hardened expressions told Oshynn all that she needed to know, without even peeking inside their minds. She looked back at Oshynn. 'We are going to get you, and your mother, out safely, alive, and out of Goril's clutches,' Merele said. 'And all that you must do ...' she added, closing her eyes a moment, 'is give Goril exactly what he wants.'

* * *

Two men whom Oshynn had not seen before approached Oshynn as she made her way back to her home. Both were dressed in black. Their shoes made no sound. One of them stepped into her path.

'In here,' the other one said, pointing to the alley to her right. Oshynn obeyed, her heart hammering.

'We're not going to hurt you, Oshynn of Llysgaled,' said the talkative one. 'We have your mother. She is safe. We will reunite you and her, once you do something for us.'

'What?'

'You are going to join the serving staff at the House of the Seven Joys,' said the talkative one. 'Tonight. You will serve some visitors from out of town.'

'You will be safe there,' the second man said. 'All that you have to do is serve them food, and listen to what they are saying.'

'Once your services are not needed,' said the first man, 'you will come to Tharda Way. There is an alleyway there, opposite the Halean Temple. Follow that alley to the end. You will be taken to your Ma.'

'To show that we mean what we say,' said the second man, taking out something to give to Oshynn. It was a lock of Arian's hair, tied at one end in black thread.

'Now go,' said the first man. 'Go home. You will be met by someone from the House of Seven Joys. She will dress you there, and take you to work tonight for seven bells.'

* * *

There was a knock on the door. Oshynn opened it. A serving woman stood in the doorway, a bundle of cloth in her hands.

'Let me in,' she snapped, her voice matter-of-fact. Oshynn stepped aside to let her in.

The woman thrust the bundle of cloth into Oshynn's arms. 'Put these on.' The woman closed the door and watched.

Oshynn did as she was told. A few minutes later, she stood in front of the serving woman.

'All done?' the woman asked. Oshynn smiled.

'Almost,' she said.

Kova came out of nowhere, surprising the serving woman. There was a familiar, heavy odour in the air. A pad clamped over the serving woman's mouth and nose. After a few seconds of puzzlement, the woman struggled; too late, the fumes did their work, and soon Kova was holding on to a limp figure whose eyes were rolling into her head.

'Riffen's compounds are very potent,' Kova said, laying the serving woman down on the floor. She began to remove her clothes. She looked at Oshynn. 'I need them.' A metallic object clattered to the floor. Kova picked it up. It was a dagger with a wicked curved blade and a black handle. Kova showed Oshynn the symbols on the blade.

'This is a Navehan blade,' she said. 'Goril has hired her to make certain that you did what he demands. The fact that he has hired an assassin acolyte of the Dark Church of Naveh means that he has no intention of keeping you or Arian alive afterwards.'

Riffen entered the room, scooping up the pad from the floor and putting it into a large leather drawstring bag. He looked at Kova.

'Do you know where to go?'

'I believe so,' Kova replied. 'Rathyn showed me.'

'Excellent,' Riffen said. 'Now, Oshynn, all that you have to do is serve the Rethemi guests and listen. Kova, you'll be her trainer, training up a new Apprentice. The House of Seven Joys care less about their serving staff than they do the courtesans who earn the money. Nobody will know you, but then again nobody will even see you or Oshynn.'

'When I want to,' Kova said, 'nobody will see me anyway.'

* * *

'You're late,' said the surly cook.

Kova and Oshynn glanced at one another. Seven bells began to strike, somewhere in the distance.

'You were saying?' Oshynn said.

'Less of your lip, you little brat,' the cook replied. 'Get in. The guests are late. The entertainers are fretting, and Lerieme is complaining about losing money.' He ushered in Oshynn and Kova.

The kitchens were bustling. Stacks of Rethemi cheeses, Myrvrian and Tormal, occupied one corner of the room, beside barrels of dark Rethemi ale and hanging hams and blood sausages.

'Where are the rest of the hams?' bellowed the cook.

'Round the back!' one of the staff barked in reply. 'Still being brought in!'

'They had better put some vigour in their step,' hollered the cook, 'or I'll serve THEM on the menu!'

Oshynn watched the cooks carve up thick slabs of the spiced hams and slap them onto the platters. A platter was thrust into her arms. She carried it through into the dining area where, going by the roars of approval, the guests had arrived.

Kova took the platter from Oshynn. 'Stay here,' she said. 'You will be serving the ales.' Oshynn watched Kova as she made her way back to the kitchen.

Somebody tapped her shoulder. 'Child!'

Oshynn spun around. A looming warrior dressed in a brown tunic and leggings, his long red hair and beard braided, towered over her.

'Yes, my Lord?'

'Did that Karejian server command you to serve the ales?'

'She did, my Lord. I shall bring you a tankard immediately.'

The man gestured for Oshynn to halt. His voice softened. 'Could I make a request instead?'

'Certainly, my Lord.'

'What kinds of wines do they serve here?'

'A variety of imported wines, my Lord, from Emelrene, Trierzon and Karejia,' Oshynn replied.

The warrior showed her a tankard. 'Keep this filled, child, and you shall receive good coin from me.'

'At once, my Lord.'

Oshynn quickly settled among the kitchen staff, as if she had always been working there. She located barrels of the best reserve; her nose told her, even before opening them, which ones were at their peak, and which ones were fit for little more than making mother of vinegar.

As the Rethemi guests dined, Oshynn quietly went along them, refilling their tankards with the strong, dark, pungent Rethemi ale, letting the creamy heads settle out of the dense brew before adding her own personal touch - levelling the top of the ale with a knife before handing the tankard back to the guest.

As she worked, she listened. Two of the guests, Barons from neighbouring Rethemi hundreds, were discussing the possibility of joining a growing movement in their villages to take up arms and follow the flag of the rebellious Earl of Tormau in his fight against the Rethemi King Chafin. Another one was discussing the bawdy brothel songs he learned from his last few visits to Shiran, concluding with 'They compose a dozen new songs every year! It's hard to keep up!" and uproarious laughter from the listeners.

'Oshynn?'

Oshynn looked around. Kova was there.

'I am listening,' Oshynn replied. 'I know when one of them is about to be thirsty, and they have not complained about the timeliness of my serving yet.'

Kova put her hand on Oshynn's shoulder. 'That is good. And your other task?'

'It goes well. Excuse me. Lord Ruthynn needs more ale.'

Kova stood quietly, holding a tray of heated face cloths, watching Oshynn rush towards the ale barrels with her jug.

'More ale!' Lord Ruthynn bellowed. 'I said - oh.' He looked down at the tankard of ale on the table. 'That was quick.'

The rest of the meal involved raucous laughter, quaffing of ale and scoffing down chunks of meat and a few vegetables which had been laid out on the table as an afterthought. Kova watched Oshynn as she finished serving light Thardic wine to the guest who had approached her earlier. She watched the Rethemi lean closer to a young, slender male with a shaved head. She saw them whisper between themselves as Oshynn stood nearby, wine jug in hand at the ready, gazing into the middle distance, pretending to be oblivious to their overheard discussion.

Oshynn approached Kova again.

'They are all priests of Agrik,' Oshynn said. 'They come from different clerical Orders, from all over Harn. This is an important time for them, because the Pontiff will be sending a delegation to Harn soon from the continent, and they all want to meet this delegation, in person if possible.'

'Is this their most important topic of conversation?'

Oshynn shook her head. 'Lord Kobar, The Lord who wishes to drink our local wines, wishes to open trade with the Order of Pameshlu the Insatiable.'

'The organisers of the Pamesani Games? I thought I recognised their shaven-headed spokesman. He's called Folar. He's the current favourite of the Viriahn - the High Priest of the faction running the Games.'

'Is that powerful?'

'Folar answers directly to the High Priest.'

'Lord Kobar wishes to become their main suppliers of Ox-Blood and Ichor of Agrik,' Oshynn said. 'For the gladiators in the arena.'

'I can see how this would be of interest,' Kova murmured. 'I think that this is the sort of intelligence that Goril has been looking for. If he could undercut Lord Kobar's bid, the Viriahn would favour offering the contract to Goril.'

Oshynn nodded. 'The Pamesani priests discuss all their trade in Surikal. They think it's a secret language.'

'To the rest of us, it is,' Kova replied. 'Certainly to Goril.'

'Not to me, and not to Riffen,' Oshynn said. 'Though Riffen would find it hard to eavesdrop here.'

Oshynn and Kova spent the next few minutes serving drinks and distributing lemon-scented towels to dry off faces and hands, and clean beards. When they next came together, the meal was almost over. The raucous laughter had begun to subside, and the revelry was turning towards more bawdy thoughts.

'They have been served some of this House's Seven Joys,' Kova said to Oshynn. 'You don't have to supply the rest. That is for the other entertainers.' She pointed at a group of scantily-clad, shapely women who paraded into the room, carrying various musical instruments - some brass horns, cymbals and hand drums. The women completed a circuit of the table, to the approval of the guests; and when they filed out of the room, the delegation got up and began to follow them.

The last two men to leave, Lord Kobar and Folar, remained seated a few moments longer as the chamber emptied. Lord Kobar gestured for Oshynn and Kova to approach.

'You served well today,' Lord Kobar said. 'Here is a bonus for your diligent servitude.' Both felt the weight of warm coin in their hands.

'Stay with us a moment longer,' Folar said. 'We would have more wine before our dealings are done, and then I shall return to the arena.'

'And I shall join the rest of the delegate, presently,' Lord Kobar added. 'Now,' he said, slipping effortlessly into Surikal, 'I can accept payments in Thardic silver, but I would prefer that in part payment. I was considering something else to come as part of the payments.'

Folar grinned. 'Such as?'

'Political favours,' Kobar said. 'An ear, in the Council. Someone sympathetic to our cause, whom we only need to bribe ... lightly.'

'Come to the Games tomorrow, then,' said Folar. 'I hear that tomorrow is a particularly favourable day to attend. A Council Alderman has recently come to power, and I heard that he has an interest in shares in a copper mine.'

'I know of a copper mine,' Kobar said, 'not far from my homestead.' He stroked his ear; a gesture which Oshynn had come to recognise as interest from the Baron.

'So, then, I shall make the arrangements to receive you, my lord Kobar. Yourself, and how many of your delegation?'

Again, the ear stroking. 'Just me.' Kobar looked at Oshynn, and gestured with his tankard for wine. So did the Pamesani, whose grin was a little too wide.

* * *

It was dark, and mostly quiet on Tharda Way, apart from the sensual music coming from the Halean temple on the left. The temple and grounds were separated from the street by a high wall, but soft light shone through the windows.

'Why do none of the buildings have any windows on this side of the street facing the temple?' Oshynn asked.

'Some minor piece of legal trickery, probably,' Kova replied. 'Something about forbidding the residents glimpses of Halea's sacred and secret rites.' She smiled. 'Or perhaps to keep the Apprentices from being distracted. I mean, if there were windows here, they would not do any work. They would sit in the windows, hoping to catch a glance of the naked Halean priestesses or something. Men.'

Oshynn nodded, thinking of Mareva and her lover. 'Men.'

'Here,' said Kova, ducking down an alleyway. Oshynn followed.

Oshynn glanced at the shadow of Kova in front of her. 'Where's the entrance?' she whispered.

'Just up ahead. The road is clear. You're expected.'

They came to a rough door at the end of the alley. Kova knocked once. The door opened slightly.

'She's here,' Kova whispered. The door opened. Kova and Oshynn entered, and the door closed behind them. Oshynn heard the bar slide into place behind her. A moment later, light filled the grubby corridor from a lantern. The poor quality lantern oil filled the air with the odour of burning. A silent man stood behind them, wearing a flat cap, black leggings and dull grey jacket, the lower half of his face shrouded by a dark scarf. He gestured for Kova and Oshynn to move ahead of him. They complied.

The room beyond was filled with crates and barrels, with men sitting and standing around. The air in the room smelled of pipeleaf: large bundles of the stuff were propped up against the far wall. One of the men, a corpulent man dressed in fine white silks, approached Oshynn.

'Ah, there you are,' said Goril the Dyer. 'Did you do as I asked you?'

Oshynn nodded. Goril smiled.

'Men, bring out her mother,' Goril said, gesturing. Two of the standing men went upstairs. Goril turned to Oshynn again. 'I am an honest man,' he said, 'and I am always ready to reward those who meet my needs.' He glanced at the men around him. 'She is alive, unharmed and uninjured,' Goril added. 'If I had injured, harmed or killed her, you might not have done as I wished. And I still need to know what you have learned from the Agrikans.'

Oshynn watched as the men led Arian down the creaking wooden steps. She looked bedraggled, but alive and unhurt.

'Go to her,' Goril said. Oshynn rushed over to embrace Arian.

'Now tell me, little girl, what you learned.'

Oshynn sighed, and recited Folar's and Lord Kobar's discussion, translated into Harnic for Goril. The whole deal, from opening trade talks to become an exclusive supplier in sib powder, Agrik Ichor and the Ox-Blood herbal stimulant, to Lord Kobar's plans to acquire a favourable ear in Shiran's council by offering shares in a Rethemi copper mine as inducement.

Goril stepped back, once Oshynn had finished. 'That was ... verbatim,' he said. 'You recited that conversation like a court recorder. You even almost sounded like Kobar and that shaven-headed Pamesani rodent.' He cupped his chin. 'Yes ... yes, this news is perfect,' he said.

'I can do better than that,' Arian said.

Goril looked at her. 'How so?'

'Do you know who some of my friends are?'

Goril sneered. 'What sort of influence do you have? I –'

'Clearly, you never heard of Merele.'

Goril looked shocked. 'Which one? Merele of the Crimson Palace? Or Eben the Slaver's sister Merele who is Grandmaster of the Eight Demons Agrikan Order?'

Arian smiled. 'Both. Business partner of one; lover of the other.' Her face had a leer that knocked Goril a step back.

Oshynn looked up at Arian. 'Ma, are we talking about our other Auntie Merele who comes over to stay at our place every Yaelmor night?'

'Yes, Oshynn, that one,' Arian said.

'But I thought she -'

Arian placed a finger over Oshynn's lips as she looked at Goril. 'Let us go, both of us, and you will have their favourable ear. After all, you are destined for a seat in the Council yourself, and it would be sensible to establish a firm business relationship early, would it not?'

Goril grinned. 'I like your thinking,' he said. 'I like it a lot.'

'How about it, Goril?' Arian said. 'The Council currently has no representative of the Lia Kavair. You could fill that Council chair, and complete your climb to the top of this brotherhood of lawbreakers, and think of all the profits you could make.

'Furthermore, Lord Kobar and Folar would be very interested in talking with you. And if you have power, imagine how much they would want to offer to sit beside you in the Senators' Box?'

'What you say,' Goril said, his face reddening, 'is immensely appealing to me.'

'Consider ... a night at the Crimson Palace? An invitation to a Halean ceremony at the temple?' She stood straight, facing Goril. 'Would you say it would be worth both our freedom?'

'I would say that.'

'So, can you let us both go?'

Goril seemed to slump. 'I could order my men to let you go,' he said. Firm hands gripped the bindings around Arian's hands - and tightened them. 'I could order them ... but I shall not.'

Hands gripped Oshynn's wrists. She felt ropes binding her. Beside her, Arian also struggled against their bonds.

'Of course, it could be even more advantageous to me,' Goril said, as the men then separated Arian and Oshynn, 'if I kept hold of you, little girl. Anyone who can speak Surikal has an advantage over the Agrikan priesthood, particularly those craven Pameshlu curs in the Arena.'

'You wouldn't,' Arian said.

'You, I'd keep on as a member of my staff,' Goril said to Arian. 'As long as you are alive, your daughter will obey.' He looked at Oshynn. 'How much will it be worth to buy her freedom? You could be working for me for years to pay off the slave contract.' He chuckled.

The voice of the Child of Gold echoed in Oshynn's mind. '"Many paths open before you. Some are sweet, some are painful, but all but two are short. The long paths are named Freedom and Servitude, and they have no end. Before Yael next blazes full in the sky, you shall see those paths open before you."'

Oshynn spoke. 'I choose freedom,' she said. She closed her eyes. The men in the room froze in place. So did Kova and Arian.

Oshynn slipped her hands free of the coarse rope, and freed Arian. She looked at her mother. 'Go,' she said. 'I will make you safe now.'

Arian, her face blank, headed for the door.

Oshynn looked at Goril. 'You were offered Yael, and you chose to try and catch its reflection in the water,' she said, her eyes also blank, the words emerging from her seemingly without her control. 'Take what you were offered. Do not overreach this time. You are destined to be on the Council, and that is where you will die; but in your destiny, you never have Arian or Oshynn of Llysgaled. Not as lovers; not as spouses; not as slaves. They are not for you. They are for me. Leave them alone, or die when the waters rise to meet your miserable sins.'

Oshynn blinked. She looked at Goril, who remained immobile, gazing toward the middle distance. She touched Kova, who blinked and opened her eyes. Oshynn gestured. Kova followed.

Outside, on the street, Oshynn immediately recognised where they were. She had stood in front of this front door before. There was the same pile of horse manure, though the drag marks on the road had gone. Nonetheless, this was Tepera Street ... just around the corner from her home.

Otunn, Rathyn and Kamala arrived, on foot. Kova looked at her fellow adventurers.

'Is it done?'

'It is done,' Otunn replied.

Oshynn frowned. 'What is?'

'We have the evidence that Goril had,' Otunn said. 'Written letters from some powerful people.'

Rathyn winked.

'His guards objected, of course.' Rathyn cracked his knuckles and smiled. 'That made it fun.'

'That is good,' Arian said. 'That should help Lord Kobar.' She looked at Oshynn. 'Goril told me about his plans, and about sending you to spy on the Agrikans.'

'But I told Goril everything I heard,' Oshynn said. 'Goril knows their plans.'

'We can warn Lord Kobar,' Arian replied. 'We can do it quietly, anonymously. Lord Kobar need never suspect that Oshynn can speak Surikal.'

'Too late for that,' said a voice from the doorway. Arian gasped. It was Lord Kobar. He looked at Oshynn. 'I already knew.'

There was a long pause. Arian looked at Lord Kobar. 'When did you know?'

'During the feast,' Kobar replied. 'After serving me with Thardic wine, I thanked Oshynn quietly.' He smiled. 'In Surikal.' He looked at Arian. 'And she paused for a moment before replying in Surikal.' He stepped towards Oshynn, and touched her long, sandy hair. 'She is beautiful,' he said.

'Yes, Kobar,' Arian replied. 'She is.'

Kobar grinned. 'You look after her,' he said. 'I have to send a message to Folar to make alternative arrangements, now.'

'Naturally.'

Kobar looked at Oshynn. 'I ought to have known,' he said. 'I have not been here for many years. Not since the last time, when a pleasant young serving girl offered me a light Thardic wine instead of my usual dark Rethemic ale, which was sitting heavy in my stomach at the time.' He looked at Arian, and said 'Look after her,' in Surikal.

'I will,' Arian replied, also in Surikal.

Oshynn glanced up. The moon, Yael, was full in the sky.

* * *

'The cat went away to hunt somewhere else today,' Oshynn said to Riffen. Once again, they were meeting in the courtyard behind the miller where they had first met. The blackbird was weaving its story on the branches of the cherry tree. The Apprentices were sitting on the back step, eating some sort of soft cheese with good spelt bread. There was no horse and cart - it was out with its owner, making deliveries about town.

Riffen stood up and went over to Oshynn. 'You did well, that night,' he told her.

'I saved my Ma,' Oshynn said.

'A remarkable job,' Riffen said. 'I leave tonight for Coranan,' he added. 'We shall not meet again for at least two more years.'

'I understand,' Oshynn said.

'Furthermore, we shall not meet here again,' Riffen said. 'Not while I live.'

'And you know this because you, as a Shek-Pvar, have a special insight bestowed upon you by your gift, I take it?' Oshynn asked.

Riffen nodded. 'You still have much to learn, but I doubt that the learning will be slow for you. You pick up on clues that an eagle would overlook. That could stand you in good stead, should you wish to follow the path my colleagues have chosen.'

'I thank you,' Oshynn said. 'I know that the heart of your words were an offer to join them, but you are bound not to ask directly.'

'You are correct,' Riffen replied.

'I also know that many paths have opened before me. Some sweet, some painful; but only Freedom and Servitude have no end, and I choose Freedom's path.'

'Why?'

'Because the other is the more pleasant ... but futile.'

Riffen thought long and hard about his next words. 'Since we last met, I prepared two gifts for you. Study them both, one at a time, in any order you like. Each is a Mystery to be resolved. Each Mystery must be solved separately, and they are both unconnected and deeply connected at the same time.'

From the sleeves of his coat jacket, Riffen took out two sealed crystalline vials. One vial was of smokey quartz, filled with some sort of dark grey swirling mist. The other was of dark bottle green glass, in which some darker green transparent fluid seemed to ebb and flow. He gave them to Oshynn, one in each hand.

As they came into contact with the bare flesh of her hands, she could feel a surge of something filling her entire body. An admixture of dark grey and green energies.

Oshynn looked at Riffen. 'Thank you,' she said. 'But what are they?'

Riffen smiled. 'They are called Jorums. And they are the key to a wealth beyond all measure.'

**Author's Note:**

> This adventure takes place on the Island of Harn, in the city of Shiran in the Thardic Republic. Many canon terms, names, locations, and cultural phenomena such as the Shek-Pvar and the Churches of Agrik, Halea, and Naveh, are based on the Harnworld intellectual property.
> 
> Copyright © Alex Greene
> 
> Based on Harnworld by N Robin Crossby, Kelestia Publications and Columbia Games, Inc. Original characters are copyright © Alex Greene. All properties belonging to the respective publishers are copyright © Keléstia Productions Ltd. and Columbia Games, Inc. All rights reserved.


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